Stop the hyperventilating, quiet the raised voices, temper the doom-saying.

Yes, we get it. It's February. In Michigan. It snows, sometimes with ice.

Few enjoy it, but come on. Does somebody need to switch from caffeine to chamomile?

MORE bad weather heading our way! The BIG story, right now: lake effect snow showers! Snow ON TOP of ice!

Take a breath, darling, weather is weather. Can't stop it, have to deal with it. But stifle the scare tactics.

Though they are effective.

Exhibit A: First thing in the morning, before bidding hello to any loved ones, I reach for the broadcast button to learn what I'll be facing on the morning commute. Gloom, doom, terror on the highways. Crashes here, crashes there; more treacherous mayhem in the forecast.

Pull up the covers and go back to sleep seems the best option, but if you're not a student or school employee, there's no chance of a day off. So off you go, inching into the frigid world.

We all know this has been a rough winter. Rougher than recent past years. The commutes have been miserable, crawling along, even when it's not white-outing in front of you, fretting you'll hit black ice, praying you don't slide off into oblivion.

Add neighborhoods that don't get plowed the way they once did, meaning even days after a big snowfall, the melt-and-freeze can make your street far more difficult to maneuver than the highway.

Is the sky falling?

But can't the news be delivered with a bit more restraint? The answer is yes, because not every broadcaster resorts to sky-is-falling tactics.

A potentially dangerous winter storm. The storm is intensifying. And the Voice From Above then intones: A winter weather alert!

Hot-button words that should be used sparingly. Ever hear of that kid who cried wolf?

What makes it worse? When the end of the world does not come. Businesses can get burned by dire predictions that never materialize. People get scared, they stay home. I recall a weekend last winter when the world was to experience death-by-weather on a Friday. Restaurants lost key weekend business in an economy that can't take that strain.

Sure, our weather is a challenge. Look at all the slide-offs and chain reactions and worse. This, ladies and gents, is not for amateurs. What does not freeze us makes us strong.

But stop shouting about it. Treat us like the weather veterans we've had to become.

Give us the data: how much, how cold, how long. Resist the cable way of 24/7 hysteria. Though can't you just hear the media consultant: Scare them enough about Arctic Armageddon and they won't be able to turn away. Ratings will soar.

We know that despite the meteorological bells and whistles and expertise, storms can change, predictions wash out.

But you don't have to yell. The bottom line: We have to function all winter long. We can't sustain the energy to go from one weather crisis to another. Calm down. It's irresponsible not to.

Plus, the first butterflies have arrived at Frederik Meijer Gardens. Spring will indeed come.

And with it -- put it in the bank -- dire warnings about ... tornado season!